Sharp differences along lines of race and politics shape American attitudes toward the poor and poverty, according to a new survey of public opinion, which finds empathy toward the poor and deep skepticism about government antipoverty efforts. The differences illuminate some of the passions that have driven this year’s contentious […] Read more »
Is Trump Wrecking Both Parties?
… You can look at the populist insurgency spearheaded by Donald Trump as either a corrective or a threat to mainstream Republican orthodoxy. On the threat side, Trump has exploited a racist and authoritarian vein in American politics. On the corrective side, Trump has tapped into and exploited the inadequacy […] Read more »
How progressive was Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech?
Just hours before Hillary Clinton delivered her speech accepting the Democratic nomination for President at the Party’s Convention, on Thursday night, two veterans of Bill Clinton’s Administration—the pollster Stan Greenberg and the economist Joseph E. Stiglitz—appeared at an event organized by the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank. The title […] Read more »
Creating a Mandate to ‘Rewrite the Rules’ of the Economy
As the two party conventions were starting, Donald Trump enjoyed about a 4-point advantage on the economy and that is what keeps him in the race to November. According to a new Democracy Corps survey on behalf of the Roosevelt Institute, the election and the battle for the economy will […] Read more »
Americans’ Optimism About Blacks’ Opportunities Wanes
Sixty-four percent of Americans believe blacks have the same chance as whites in their local community to get a job for which they are qualified, but the percentage holding that view has declined in recent years and is the lowest since 1995. CONT. Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Read more »
How Falling Behind the Joneses Fueled the Rise of Trump
… Trump’s white working class supporters — who provide somewhere between 58 and 62 percent of his votes, according to data from NBC and ABC polls — have suffered a stunning loss of relative status over the past 40 years. Their wages have stagnated or declined; the ascendance of minorities […] Read more »